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CATALOGUE .QF PLAYS 


WRITTEN BY THE PLAYWRIGHTS DIVISION 
OF 

THE ILLINOIS ’WRITERS' PROJECT 


of the 

WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION 


1940 























/? 


z*. 


CATALOGUE .QF PLAYS 
WRITTEN BY THE PLAYWRIGHTS DIVISION 
OF 

THE ILLINOIS WRITERS’ PROJECT 

of the 

WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION 


1940 






* fiL LiuftHltl UF uONUHESS 

OCT 31 1941 

DIVISION OF DOCUMENTS 





























PREFATORY HOTS 


In these days, when most dramatic works are prefaced with the 
assurance that "any similarity to actual persons, living or 
dead, is coincidental" it is with a measure of relief that we 
are able to say that in a majority of these plays the leading 
characters were actual persons whose deeds contributed in some 
manner toward the building of the American Midwest. 

The plays included in the present series are devoted Chiefly 
to events and personalities of the past. Some of these events 
were highly controversial in their own day, but we are now 
able to look at them with the perspective given us by the 
passing years. 

Because the playwrights whose works are included in this series 
have a great and boundless faith in Americanism and more 
especially in the drama of the building of midwest America, 
and because the Illinois Writers’ Project has encouraged them 
in this faith, and because of their desire to record in drama¬ 
tic form some of the phases of the growth of a nation, these 
plays have been written and compiled by the Playwright’s 
Division of the Illinois Writers' Project. 

Some liberties may have been taken with accurate historic fact, 
but not with the actual spirit of the times ntr with the work¬ 
ing forces which brought on the dramatic crises. 

Scripts of these plays are available to tax-supported schools 
and non-profit organizations for presentation with the per¬ 
mission of the State Supervisor of the Illinois Writers' Project, 
Arrangements can be made for such permission by addressing the 
State Supervisor, Illinois Writers’ Project, Work Projects 
Administration, 433 East Erie Street, Chicago, Illinois. 






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INDEX 


(* Indicates three act plays.) 


EARLY EXPLORERS 

* CAVALIER Ruth Schaaf 1 


FRONTIER DRAMAS 

WHITE CAPTIVE 
COLONEL BIG KNIFE 
WHITE FLOWER 
* THE LAST RIVER 
LE AFFAIRE LA VOSSIERE 


PIONEER PLAYS 

GRASS ON THE PRAIRIE 
US DORIANS 
A PIECE OF STRATEGY 
♦ HOLY JOE 

A NIGHT IN THE FOREST 
A CAHOKIA STORY 
SHIP WITHOUT SAILS 


LINCOLN PLAYS 

NORTH STAR 
BLACK GROVE 
NORTH LIGHTNING 
TWO PATRIOTS 
LONG NINE 

MRS MARY LINCOLN - WIDOW 


CIVIL WAR PLAYS 

ECHO OF CONFLICT 
NEW DAY COMING 
APOSTLE OF FREEDOM 
WARTIME PRISONERS 
BORDER STATE 


Ruth Ellis 2 
Lester Pine 3 
Charles Hayes 4 
Charles Hayes 5 
Jacob Bentkover 6 


Ruth Schaaf 

7 

Ruth Ellis 

8 

Ruth Schaaf 

9 

Ruth Schaaf 

10 

Leon Kaufman 

11 

George Murray 

12 

Joe Abrams 

13 


Jacob Bentkover 14 
Jacob Bentkover 15 
Jacob Bentkover 16 
Ruth Ellis 17 
Manford Ettinger 18 
David Peltz 19 


Manford Ettinger 20 
Manford Ettinger 21 
Charles Hayes 22 
Ruth Ellis 23 
George Murray 24 













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CHICAGO PLAYS 


A LILY FOR A LADY Joe Abrams 25 

SPEAK SOFTLY OF THE DEAJ Joe Abrams 26 

GARDEN OF EDEN Ruth Schaaf 27 

BY PRODUCTS OF AB3AT0IR Ruth Ellis 28 

FLOTSAM Charles Hayes 29 

SHADOWS OF THE PAST Victor Schafer 30 

SHIFTING SANDS Victor Schafer 31 

THE MUSIC TEACHER Joe Abrams 32 

COLUMBUS MISSED THE BOAT Joe Abrams 33 

DUE PROCESS OF LAW Jacob Bentkover 34 

A MAID IN PERIL Joe Abrams 35 

ILLINOIS PLAYS 

THE STRANGER IN THE PITS Joe Abrams 36 

CASE OF THE STOLEN CADAVER Joe Abrams 37 

PROMISED LAND Ruth Schaaf 38 

THE DEVIL AHORSEBACK Victor Schafer 39 

SPIRIT OF ABOLITION Carl F. Williamson 40 

THE STORMING OF SEBASTOPOL Jacob Bentkover 41 

REVENGE AT AUVOO David Peltz 42 

YOU'RE ASKING FOR IT George Murray 43 

PLAYS OF NEGRO LIFE 

WEEP NO NORE Ruth Schaaf 44 

NO GREATER LOVE Charles Hayes 45 

DRAMA OF MEDICINE AND SCIENCE 

* SLEEP MAKER Joe Abrams 46 

PIONEER WITH A KNIFE Joe Abrams 47 








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CAVALIER 


A Three Act Play 

% 

Huth Schaaf 


TIME: 


SCENE: 


CHARACTERS: 


COSTUMES: 
AUDIENCE: 


The seventeenth century. 

Two interiors. One exterior. 
Eighteen men, one child. 
Seventeenth century. 
Universal. 


SYNOPSIS: La Salle has convinced Prontenac, the Governor of Canada 

that the "building of forts in the Mississippi Valley 
would "be of great benefit to Prance. Prontenac promises 
to do all be can. But the foppish Count Be Brucy, who 
is cousin to the King of Prance, hears the interview be¬ 
tween the men and decides to accompany La Salle. In the 
wilderness the Count is a nuisance to La Salle for he 
superciliously insists on certain comforts. But to La 
Salle's surprise, when a crucial situation arises with the 
Indians, De Brucy volunteers to go off into the wilderness 
to summon La Salle's lieutenant, Tonty, Meanwhile L a 
Salle's men mutiny and leave him. At the blackest hour of 
all, when the Iroquois are attacking, De Brucy arrives 
with Tonty and a substantial body of French troops. But 
a medicine man of the Illinois Indians, who has been 
jealous of La Salle's influence with the chief and who 
hates the whites, aims a shot at La Salle through the 
window of the fort, De Brucy sees him, throws himself in 
front of La S a lle, and is killed saving the life of the 
French explorer. 

PRODUCTION NOTES: 

Easy to stage. Could be played on a bare stage with a 
few props. The costumes need be little more than boots, 
a hat with a plume, a long jacket, trousers tucked into 
the boots. 



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WHITS CAPTIVE 



A One Act Play in Verse 

By 

Ruth Ellis 

TIME: 

Summer, 1830. 

SETTING: 

A log cabin interior. 

CHARACTERS: 

Three women, six men, two children. 

COSTUMES: 

Indian and frontier. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Twenty years after a daughter of a white family had teen 
captured by Indians, an agent, Colonel Blatz, offers to 
negotiate her return for half the family fortune. The 
Colonel brings the supposed captive daughter, Mimi, 
accompanied by Mimi's friend, Tyon, and Tyon's two children, 
The Colonel has no definite proof of Mimi's relationship 
to the family, but intends to foist her on them for the 
reward. However, the mother of the family recognizes 
similarities between Tyon 1 s children and her own lost baby. 
Tyon, also a white captive meditates and bit by bit re¬ 
calls her early life and family. Tyon and her family re¬ 
joice in their reunion; nevertheless Ty*n leaves them to 
return to her Indian husband and his people. 


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C0L0N3L BIG KNIFE 



A Play in One Act, Three Scenes 

By 

Lester Pine 

TIME: 

Latter part Eighteenth century. 

SCENE: 

Illinois country. 

CHARACTERS: 

Twenty-five men or mere, one boy. 

COSTUMES: 

Makeshift frontier. 

AUDIENCE: 

High school or over. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Colonel George Rogers Clark and his "Big Knives" are 
garrisoned at Kaskaskia. A settler named Johnson and his 
family are murdered by Indians sent out by British General 
Hamilton at Vincennes. Clark buries Johnson, who rode to 
the fort with his head cut open, when Senor Vigo informs 
Clark of the weakness of the British garrison, he decides 
to attack, effecting a surprise by marching across 200 
miles of muddy prairie. Despite hunger, cold, sickness, 
grumbling, and open revolt, he manages to lead his force 
to the outskirts of Vincennes without losing a man. They 
surround the fort and shoot the sentries at the portholes. 
The British can net return the fire for they are picked 
rff the moment they show their faces at an opening. 
Maisonville, an Indian partisan, is captured and tortured. 
Clark stops this and sends a note to Hamilton, warning 
him that murder will be done if he is obliged to st*rm. 
Hamilton replies that he will not be bluffed. Just as 
Clark is about to resume hostilities a white flag appears 
over the fort. Hamilton requests a parley. At the par¬ 
ley Hamilton blusters, fumes, and struts. Clark tells 
Hamilton that if he does not surrender at 10 •’clock the 
following morning the fort will be demolished and every 
man killed. This ends the parley. In the morning the 
drums start to roll. At the end of the roll hostilities 
will begin. A white flag appears over the fort showing 
that Clark is the better bluffer. The fort falls and 

Clark wins his victory for democracy. 

NOTE: 

This is a very simple play to stage. Drapes and a few 
props are all that are necessary. Affords excellent act¬ 
ing opportunities to a great part of the cast. 


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WHITS FLOWER 



A One Act Drama 

By 

Charles Hayes 

TIME: 

Afternoon, 1800. 

SCENE: 

Indian lodge. 

CHARACTERS: 

Six men, one hoy, seven women, one girl. 

COSTUMES: 

Indian frontier. 

AUDIENCE: 

Universal. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Red Eagle, a chief of the Potawatomi, and his mother, #ld 
Queen, are in their lodge discussing White Slower, Red 
Eagle's adopted sister. White Flower, who is a white child, 
was kidnapped from a settler's cabin by Red Eagle several 
years ago. Flat Nose, Red Eagle's squaw, also present, 
has just finished a bead necklace. She presents the neck¬ 
lace to Red Eagle, hoping that he will allow her to keep 
it; instead, Red Eagle keeps the necklace for White Flower. 
This angers Flat Nose, who has long resented the child’s 
place in Red Eagle's affections. White Flower and Running 
Deer, a playmate, enter, quarreling over a woodland in¬ 
cident. Red Eagle pacifies the children and plays games 
with them. Flat Nose is sent to get food for White Flower. 
Meantime, White Flower falls asleep. Red Eagle lays her 
cn a blanket, then he and Old Queen go out. Flat Nose 
comes back with the food and roughly awakens White Flower. 
When the squaw leaves, Running Deer comes in and knocks 
the food out of White Flower's hand, and says that Flat 

Nose poisoned it. Red Eagle and Old Queen return, greatly 
excited. A party of whites is approaching the village. 

Old Queen and White Flower are sent to hide. Father 

Pierre, a missionary priest, Mr. and Mrs. Lytel, two white 
men, and Thundercloud, and old chief «f the village, enter. 
Red Eagle denies that the child is in the village but the 
fraud is exposed by Flat Nose, and the child is taken away 
by her rightful parents. 

PRODUCTION 
NOTES: 

Simple, easy to direct. Few props necessary. 


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THE LAST RIVER 

A Three Act Drama 

By 

Charles Hayes 

TIME: 

1790. 

PLACE: 

Frontier. 

SCENE: 

Five (three interiors, two exteriors). 

COSTUME: 

Frontier, keelhoatmen, soldiers. 

AUDIENCE: 

Adults. 

CHARACTERS: 

Twenty-two men, three women. (Extras: men and women) 

SYNOPSIS: 

Mike Fink, a restless frontiersman, finds himself trap¬ 
ped by an influx of new settlers and decides to move on. 

He joins a keelhoat crew and in time, "because of his 
prowess as a fighter and rlverman, "becomes their uncrown 3d 
king. Then the steamboat appears on the Mississippi 

and threatens the keelhoat trade. Lydia, a girl with 
whom Mike has been consorting for several years, is cast¬ 
ing eyes at the glamorous steamboat captains. When 

Simpson, the owner of Mike's boat, buys a steamboat, Mike 
refuses its captaincy.While Mike is in St. Louis, debat¬ 
ing his future, the Reverand Briggs, a fanatical minister 
from the old settlement, and Jeff Collins, Lydia*s 
father, appear. Jeff forces Mike to marry Lydia at the 
point of a gun. Mike, Lydia, and Carpenter, a boy to 
whom Mike is greatly attached, join an expedition which 
is to build a fort at the headwaters of the Missouri River. 
After the fort is built Mike finds himself caught in the 
old dilemma, as once again newcomers swarm into the settle^ 
ment, and restrictions are placed on Mike and men of his 
ilk. Just when things are at their lowest ebb, Mike dis¬ 
covers that Lydia and Carpenter are in love. Mike is 
arrested for violating a '*No Shooting" order, and is con¬ 
fined in the fort. Prior to this, Mike and a number of 
old keelboaters have planned to steal a keelboat and go 
on their own up the unexplored Yellowstone river. On the 
day of his trial, Mike escapes and joins his friends on 
their journey up the Yellowstone, much to the relief of 
Major Ashley, commandant of the fort. 


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LE AFFAIRE LA VOSSIERE 



A Comedy in One Act 

By 

Jacob Bentkover 

TIME: 

Spring, 1788 

PLACE: 

French settlement at Peoria, Illinois. 

SET: 

One interior. 

CHARACTERS: 

Seven men, three women. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Louis La Vossiere discovers that Henriette, his young 
wife, is carrying on a flirtation with a trapper named 
Maillet. In a fit of jealousy he plans to kill all of 
his enemies, himself, and his wife. He plants a powder 
mine in the basement of his house and. then invites his 
enemies to dinner, planning the explosion when they are 
all at the table. His messenger is Enipoo, an Indian, 
who despises Vossiere and wants to revenge himself on 
him for certain injustices. At the table, in the presence 
of the guests, Vossiere announces that they are all 
doomed to death by the explosion. They immediately run 
from the room, leaving Vossiere, petrified by fear, pray¬ 
ing madly for his life. Enipoo, however, takes the fuse 
out of the powder and averts the explosion, Henriette 
rushes in and thinks that Vossiere is a hero because he 
is the only one did not fear death and run. Falling in 
love with her husband anew, Henrietta renounces her 
lover, Maillet, and he leaves furiously. Enipoo does 
not want the episode to end happily for Vossiere, and 
forges a note from Maillet challenging him to a duel out¬ 
side. Vossiere, mortally afraid, cringes and blubbers 
in fear, to Henrietta's disgust. There is the sound of 
a shot outside and Vossiere screams for protection and 
clutches madly at his wife. Henriette, of course, dis¬ 
covers that her husband is not the hero that she thought 
him, Enipoo appears in the doorway with a smoking rifle, 
yelling with laughter at his triumph, to be berated by 
the disappointed and enraged Henrietta, who has ended 
up by losing both her lover and her husband. 


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GRASS ON THE PRAIRIE 

A One Act Comedy 

By 

Ruth Schaaf 

TIME: 

1848 

SCENE: 

A rude cabin on the Illinois prairies. 

CHARACTERS: 

Three men, one woman. 

COSTUMES: 

Rough pioneer clothes. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Enoch, living the hard life of a pioneer in Illinois, 
hates his lot because he sees no chance to do anything 
spectacular or to get rich quickly. His friend and 
neighbor however, loves the country and the wide prairies 
and visualizes a great future. Enoch needs some one to 
help him with the work so he decides to get married. A 
river boat captain that he knows has a big strong, husky 
daughter. He writes to the captain and everything is 
arranged, but instead of the husky wench a pale slim girl 
arrives and tells Enoch that the other girl, her sister 
has eloped with a steamboat captain. Enoch’s reaction 
is very unromantic. She looks too slim for hard, work 
and he is frankly disgusted. Enoch's friend, however, 
falls in love with the girl. The marriage is postponed 
for a few days until the minister arrives. Meanwhile 
Enoch goes out into the barn and leaves his friend with 
the girl. A runaway slave who is heading eastward, 
stumbles exhausted into the cabin, and the girl hides 
him. When Enoch comes back he discovers the Negro and 
wants to turn him over to the sheriff, until he hears the 
story that the Negro tells, about wagons rolling west¬ 
ward with slogans written across them: CALIFORNIA OR 
BUST. Gold is discovered and Enoch leaves everything, 
his future wife, his cabin, all his belongings, to join 
the made scranble for gold. T he girl and Enoch’s friend 
remain together happy and confident of what the future 
will bring. 


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US DORIANS 



A Tragedy in One Act 

By 

Ruth Ellis 

TIME: 

1832. 

SCENE: 

Interior of a log cabin on Rock River 

CHARACTERS: 

Two women, four men, two boys. 

COSTUMES: 

Pioneer or ordinary farm clothes. 

AUDIENCE: 

Universal. 

SYNOPSIS: 

The Dorians, a pioneer family, came to Illinois shortly 
before the outbreak of the Black Hawk War, Rollo, 
second son of the Dorians, and Nona, wife of Josha 
Dorian, are in love with each other. Since Nona is 
about to have a child, they decide that Rollo should go 
away so that Nona can continue her duty as Josha 1 s wife 
and mother to his child. Mrs. Dorian and Josha, un- 
aware of the relationship existing between the two, re¬ 
fuse Rollo permission and money to go away. Hollo in 
his fury confesses to Josha his love for Nona. Josha, 
heartbroken and enraged, curses his brother, severs all 
ties, and is about to leave when news comes that Black 
Hawk and his tribes have returned. Hollo, who has gone 
for the doctor's medicine case, is capturod by the 
Indians. Josha rescues him and is shot. Meanwhile, 
Nona's child is born; the two brothers go to her bedside 
and at her request shake hands. Josha, faint from the 
loss of blood, falls to the floor and dies. At the 
same time the doctor draws the sheet over Nona* s life¬ 
less form. Rollo stands transfixed, shakes his head 
•and says, "She'll be both of ours now - Josha - - 
forever and ever!" 


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A PI SCI] OF STRATEGY 



A One Act Comedy 

By 

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Ruth Schaaf 

TIME: 

1832 

SCENE: 

C a bin of the Hotchkiss family 

CHARACTERS: 

Pour men, four women, one hoy 

COSTUMES: 

Rough pioneer clothing 

AUDIENCE: 

Universal 

SYNOPSIS: 

Eli Hotchkiss, a hoy of twelve, is behaving a little 
nervously because his teacher is coming to the house 
to inform his parents about his unsatisfactory work at 
school. Eli’s father is very strict about such things, 
Mr. Scraggs, the teacher, is in love with Sarah, Eli's 
sister, but Sarah despises him because he is boastful 
and obnoxious in general. Scraggs comes in f hints around 
a good bit while Eli's heart is in his mouth. At the 
supper table Scraggs boasts about himself and how he 
held off a whole band of Indians and saved a white settle’ 
ment. There is talk about the Indian Black Hawk and the 
rumors that he is determined to return and to get back 
his Illinois land. Scraggs promises to protect every¬ 
body. Then he turns his attention to Eli and is just 
about to tell on him when there are shouts, some neigh¬ 
bors come running in, and Indian cries are heard outside. 
It is Black Hawk's band. All join in the defense except 
Mr. Scraggs, who has disappeared during the excitement. 
The Indians are driven off and when the Hotchkisses look 
for Scraggs he is discovered hidden under the feather 
bed. A s he leaves Eli plucks from his coat a white 
feather which he got from his contact with the feather 
bed. He leaves in disgrace and the story about Eli’s 
school trouble is never told. 


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HOLY JOE 



A Three Act Drama 

By 

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Ruth Schaaf 

TIME: 

1900 

SCENE: 

Pour interiors. 

CHARACTERS: 

Fourteen men, eleven women. 

COSTUMES: 

Frock coat and hustle. 

SYNOPSIS: 

The play deals with a man who became a prophet and drew 
many men and women around him until his arrogance became 
too great for men to bear, leading him to his own death. 
At the beginning his superstitious mother fills his head 
with mystical ideas. She is awaiting the birth of a 
child and says that there are omens to indicate that she 
will bring forth a prophet. But when a girl is born, 
she weeps and Joe, to calm her, says that he saw a vision 
in which two angels told him he was the Beloved Son. 
After this the idea remains with him. He marries, per¬ 
forms an unexpected miracle on a hysterical woman, and 
soon people flock around him. But his career really be¬ 
gins when he meets Emmet Haney, a man of education and 
talent, who sees in Joseph Blount the ideal charlatan. 
Joe's wife is unhappy because Joe philanders. As his 
star rises Joe gets more and more arrogant. Joe's father 
undertakes to teach the mayor of a neighboring town a 
lesson. Because the man is Joe's enemy, Joe’s father 
shoots him. Joe and his brother are arrested as suspects 
and are put in jail in a neighboring town. Here, removed 
from his followers, Joe begins to understand that he is 
hated bitterly by the many enemies he has made. Sticks 
and stones are thrown in through the window of his cell. 
He tries to make a speech but is injured when a stone 
hits him on the head. The sheriff and jailers treat 
him with disrespect and hatred. At the end the mob lead¬ 
ers break into the cell and lead him off to kill him, 

Joe, who is dazed hy the terrible turn of events, is lead 
off shouting that he is God's prophet. 


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A NIGHT I IT THE FOREST 



A One-Act Play 

By 

Leon Kaufman 

DATE: 

May, 1842 

TIME: 

Night 

CHARACTERS: 

Two frontiersmen, three Indian men, and an Indian boy of 

twelve. 

AUDIENCE: 

Children and adults. 

COSTUMES: 

Ty Y -o buckskin suits and a feathered head-dress for the 
Indian men, a small buckskin suit for the boy, and 
ordinary trousers and cotton shirts for the frontiersmen. 

SYNOPSIS: 

A Sauk warrior, his young son, and a medicine man are 
camping by a fire in the forest after a day of hunting 
in Illinois, into which they had come from across the 
river in Iowa. Around them are such game as beaver, fox, 
and raccoon, but the real prize is a great buffalo which 
was killed by the boy with a single arrow. 

When the boy was only six months old his father, who had 
been driven from his home along with other Sauk Indians 
by the Americans in the Black Hawk War, had a dream in 
which his ancestors appeared before him. They told him 
that they had held a great council in the Spirit Land and 
had chosen his son to be the future chief who would lead 
his people back to their ancient land in Illinois. They 
directed the father to observe carefully certain matters 
concerning the boy's training as a hunter and warrior, 
including the injunction that, at the age of twelve, the 
boy must kill his first buffalo with a single arrow in 
the ancient hunting grounds of the Sauks. 

While the Indians are encamped in the forest, two front¬ 
iersmen, members of a posse hunting an Indian who had 
murdered a white man, come upon them and attempt to trick 
them into trading their buffalo and the other game for 
whiskey. The Indians refuse to trade or sell, whereupon 
the frontiersmen, declaring that the game was illegally 
killed in Illinois, proceed to appropriate the game at 
gun's point. The boy, who is very proud of his buffalo 
and anticipates showing it off to his people, can not bear 
the thought of losing it. Despite their guns, he springs 
upon one the men and beats at him furiously. The men 

relent at last when the boy breaks down and sobs broken- 
heartedly. They leave the buffalo and depart with the 
other game. 


Production Note. The entire action ta’ es place "by the campfire, which 
lights up a radius of about four feet, beyond which is 
darkness. 


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A CAHOKIA STORY 



A One-Act Play 

By- 

George Murray 

TIMS: 

1810 

PLACE: 

Trappist monastery in Cahokia, Illinois. 

CHARACTERS: 

One woman, thirteen or fourteen men 

COSTUMES: 

Monks ro"bes for twelve; otherwise period; 

AUDIENCE: 

General Adult (with particular appeal to Catholics.) 

SYNOPSIS: 

Believing his wife dead in an Indian raid, Captain Jack 
O'Malley, frontiersman, "becomes a drunkard and finds 
peace and reformation in the Trappist Monastery into 
which he wanders. Not only does he find the peace of 
mind he has "been unable to find outside, hut in service 
to others, he overcomes the hatred for Indians which 
his disastrous experience had left in him. He does not 
immediately join the religious order, hut after several 
months, he decides to take the necessary vows of poverty, 
chastity, obedience, and silence. Immediately after 
he has vowed eternal chastity, he discovers that the 
wife whom he had thought dead in an Indian raid was one 
of the few in the village to escape the massacre. At 
first his superior in the religious order, Father Pierre, 
tries to help him solve his problem. Then, deciding 
that not even a Father Superior can be God over the 
lives of his fellow-men, the kindly priest allows the 
. new monk to work out his own destiny. It is a human 
story, delicately told, which poses an eternal question 
at its final curtain. It will compel the tense interest 
of any adult audience from start to finish. 

Production 

Note: 

The play is virtually a bare stage, being merely the re¬ 
fectory of a poverty-vowed monastery. Costumes are 
simple. Production is simple and easy but the director 
should have some human insight to get the most out of the 
play's situation. Audience must be high school age or 
beyond. 


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SHIP WITHOUT SAILS 



By 

Joe Abrams 

TIKE: 

1798 

PLACE: 

A Tavern Inn in Bardstown, Ky. 

CHARACTERS: 

Pour men, three women. 

COSTUMES: 

Pioneer. 

SYNOPSIS: 

John Fitch has surveyed land in and about Bardstown, 
Kentucky, claimed the land from the government, and 
allowed his claim to rest. During the intervening 
years he worked in the East on his invention of the 
steamboat. Having lost all of his money he returns 
to Bardstown only to find that the land ho had claimed 
is settled by farmers and squatters who refuse to 
recognize his claim. He takes the matter to the courts 
and the play opens as Pitch, now an old man, is still work¬ 
ing on his invention of the steamboat. There is a 
mob collecting in the town in order to lynch Fitch. 

Their real motive is that of keeping the lands they 
have settled, but they have aroused the superstitious 
by accusing Fitch of witchcraft as proved by his work¬ 
ing on a contraption like a steamboat. The mob, led 
by Mike Trumbull, gathers before the inn, and demands 
Fitch.A c.omproniso is effected; Mike Trumbull is 
allowed to enter. He demands that Fitch surrender 
himself to the mob and is about to take Fitch forcibly, 
when he is halted by Mrs. Rowan, a friend of Fitch. 

Mike goes up to his room, and gives him five minutes 
to give himself up. During the five minutes plans are 
made among Fitch's friends to outwit the mob, but all 
are doomed to failure. After five minutes Mike re¬ 
enters, and demands John Fitch. No pleas touch him, 
and ho is blind to the dream of a steamboat that will 
plow the waters on it3 O’.m power. Ho is about to go 
upstairs to bring Fitch down, when he is met by Dr. 
Thornton who tells Mike that Fitch is dead. Thornton 
tells them the last words of Fitch, who has given these 
people all rights to the land. These words so shame 
Trumbull and the others that they reverse their opinion 
of Fitch and leave genuinely saddened by his death. 

PRODUCTION 
NOTES: 

This is done in one set, is exciting drama, has a balanced 
cast, and offers excellent opportunity for characerti- 
zation. 


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NORTH STAR 


CHARACTERS: 

SETTING: 

COSTUMES: 

TIME: 

PLACE: 

SYNOPSIS: 


A Drama in Ons Act 

By 

Jacob Bentkover 


Fifteen men, five woman, several other men and women. 
One interior, log cabin. 

Those of a frontier town. 

March, 1834. 

New Salem, Illinois. 


Dr. Allen, abolitionist, has received via the Under- 
groung Railway an escaped slave named Charley. He 
wants to get Charley on to the next station under cover 
of night, but can’t do so because of the presence of 
th9 Clary's Grove Boys in the town in one of their 
rowdy moods. Dr. Allen calls on young Abe Lincoln to 
help by getting the Clary's Grove 3oys out of the way. 
Despite his hatred of slavery, Aba does not believe 
in abolition as a solution, and is upset by Allen's 
revelation. Allen thinks Abe is deterred by his 
candidacy for the State Legislature, and the fact that 
the father of Ann Rutledge, his sweetheart, is a 
Southerner. Abe denies that these factors influence 
him; but he is still upset and undecided, although 
Charley comes out of his hiding place to tell his story 
and plead with Abe. The Clary's Grove Boys, noticing 
the covered wagon and horses outside the cabin, came 
prowling in. They finally discover Charley and drag 
him out. 

Charley and Allen appeal to Abe. The Rutledges and 
several villagers come hurrying in. Abe seems im¬ 
plicated, and Rutledge asks him to clear himself. Abe 
expresses his ideas, but is not altogether decided one 
way or the other. 

Jack Armstrong, leader of the Boys, seizes Charley. 

They are about to carry him off, when Abe intervenes. 

He maneuvers the Boys into accepting his challenge for 
Charley's freedom: Abe is to wrestle any three of them. 
Their sporting blood is aroused. The room is cleared. 
There is a quick series of four falls, Abe losing the 
third and winning the other three and Charley's freedom. 
At Abe's request, the Clary's Grove Boys themselves, 
whooping and shouting, ride off with Charley and Allen 
to escort them to the next station. 


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BLACK GROVE 



A Drama in One Act, 

By 

Jacob Bentkover 

CHARACTERS: 

Fifteen men, two women, two children. 

SETTING: 

One interior, newspaper office. 

COSTUMES: 

Those of an Illinois town in 1847, 

TIME: 

Summer of 1847. 

PLACE: 

Charleston, Illinois. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Ahe Lincoln has been the attorney for the recovery of 
the slave Jane Bryant and her two children, suit for 
whom has been brought by the slave-owner Matson. Jane's 
husband Anthony is a freeman and the foreman on Matson's 
Illinois farm "Black Grove." 

Abe has discovefed that Matson's suit is based on a 
fraud, and Abe has thrown the case away. His sympathies 
have not boon with Matson in the first place, although 
he believes in the enforcement of the law, however 
obnoxious. Mat.son is now determined to abduct Jan, her 
children, and Anthony too, and take them back to his 
Kentucky plantation. It is known that he is mustering 
a mob in the town. Anthony and his family have taken 
refuge with the abolitionist Ashmore. William Harry 
gets from Abe an article on the case for his newspaper 
the "Courier", exposing the fraudulent nature of Matson's 
claims. Matson enters with several men and demands Abe 
withdraw the article. On being refused, Matson's men 
run into the press room and destroy the plates. Abe 
throws them out. 

Harry plans to get the article out as a leaflet in order 
to weaken Matson's following and prevent the kidnapping, 
which is evidently planned for that night. The scene 
ends as the abolitionist Rutherford and Anthony run out 
to get Jan and her children. That night Jane and her 
children hide in the basement of the building. Matson 
and his men, armed, enter. Rutherford, Ashmore, and 
their men are armed also. Matson demands the leaflets; 
demands also to know where Anthony and his family are. 

A crowd gathers outside. Mary accidentally reveals the 




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presence of the Negroes in the basement. Matson's men 
run down and drag them up. A riot seems imminent, with 
Matson getting away with the Bryants. Abe, fearing 
general bloodshed, retreats. 

Anthony in despair seizes a pistol and kills his wife 
and children, rather than see them go back into slavery. 
Abe in a rage knocks Matson unconscious and drives out 
the awed Matson men. The play ends with the realiza¬ 
tion on Abe's part that there can be no compromise 
with the slave-owners. 


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NORTH LIGHTNING 



A Drama in One Act 

By 

Jacob Bentkover 

CHARACTERS: 

Nine men, three women, one hoy. 

SETTING: 

One interior, a parlor. 

COSTUMES: 

Those of urban Illinois in 1861. 

TIME: 

February 4, 1861. 

PLACE: 

Parlor of the Lincoln home in Springfield, Illinois. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Abe Lincoln has been elected President of the United. 
States. A s the curtain rises, Pantier, Wilkes, and 

Blore are in the parlor. They are three southerners, 
there on a pretext, v7ho plan to assassinate Lincoln 
before he gets to Washington for the inauguration. 

Blore is nervous, upset. Lincoln, Mary, and some friends 
enter from the dining room. Herndon, Lincoln’s law 
partner, is suspicious of the three, but Mary, from the 
South herself, is friendly to them. 

Blore's nerve gives way; he becomes ill and is carried 
upstairs by his companions, Mary going with them. 

Herndon warns Abe not to trust them. Abe has received 
threats from all over the country, and he is urged not 
not to go to Washington, but to establish the captial 
in the North. Abe has sent Mather to Washington to see 
Scott, the head of the army, and sound him on his 
loyalty. 

Wilkes and Pantier come down with Mary, and ask to see 

Abe alone, their pretext being a forged letter from a 
southern friend of Abe's. Herndon and Lamon, Lincoln’s 
other law partner, try to remain, but the indignant 

Mary assists Abe in ushering them out. As Abe starts 
to close the door, Blore runs down the stairs. Afraid 
that his fellow-conspirators planto leave him to shoulder 
the punishment for the crime, he shrieks out at them. 
Pantier and Wilkes attempt to kill Abe, who grapples 
with Pantier as Lamon and Herndon tackle Wilkes. 



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The assassins are disarmed. Mather comes in, returned 
from Washington and tells Abe that General Scott 
vouches for Lincoln 1 s safety and requests him to come 
on to Washington. 

Abe, taking his escape and other signs as evidence he 
will live through the crisis, decides to go to Wash¬ 
ington to defend the republic. 






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TWO PATRIOTS 



A Drama in One Act 

By 

Ruth Ellis 

TIME: 

Civil War, about 1865 - Washington 

SETTING: 

Three interior scenes 

CHARACTERS: 

Nineteen men, one hoy, two women 

COSTUMES: 

Ordinary dress. 

SYNOPSIS: 

John Wilkes Booth and his followers feel that the South 
is being done an injustice - - that slaves are necessary 
for the maintenance of the culture and existing 
standards of living in the South. They decide to do 
away with Lincoln and his cabinet and thus insure vic¬ 
tory for the South. Lincoln, on the other hand, be¬ 
lieves that all men are created equal; he is determined 
to continue the war until his purpose, freedom for the 
Negroes, is achieved. In monologue the character of 
Booth and then Lincoln is presented. The spot light 
picks up 3ooth, who says,"Lincoln must go, TonightJ" 
"Tonight at the theatre I shall play the leading role 
of my life. Lincoln must goj" It then picks up Lincoln 
who is preparing to leave for the theatre. "There is 
really no time to go to the theatre tonight," he says. 
"There is too much to be done," He walks to his desk, 
slowly fingers the pages of his calendar, repeats the 
words, "Time! Time.’ Time!" and leaves for the theatre. 


PRODUCTION NOTES: 

Simple furnishings. A desk to suggest an office for 
the second scene. 


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THE LONG NINE 



A Play in One Act 

Manford Ettinger 

TIME: 

1836-37. 

SCENE: 

Vandalia, Ill. Three interiors. 

CHARACTERS: 

Twenty-one males. 

COSTUMES: 

Period. 

AUDIENCE: 

High schools, junior, colleges, adult. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Abe Lincoln 1 s first major political triumph in Illinois 
is his success in procuring the removal of the state 
capital from Vandalia to Springfield. Although not at 
that time prominent in state politics, Lincoln is the 
behind-the-scenes leader of the delegation from Sang¬ 
amon county — the famous "Long Nine”. The delegation 
goes to Vandalia pledged to move heaven and earth to 
secure the Capitol for their county seat, Springfield. 

Por most of the session, their fight looks like a hope¬ 
less one. The Vandalia delegation controlls the major¬ 
ity of the votes and is determined that Vandalia should 
remain the capital. Through adroit maneuvering involving 
a few good old political "horse trades" as well as comic 
and serious incidents, Lincoln succeeds in outsmarting 
the Vandalia men. The capital is moved to Springfield, 
and Lincoln's political reputation is established on 
a state-wide basis for the first time. 


PRODUCTION NOTES:. 

Two simple interiors and a series of short "blackouts* 
Could be done with a minimum of setting and properties. 
Offers broad acting opportunities for a variety of 
characters. 


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MRS. MARY LINCOLN - WIDOW 



A one-act Drama - One Scene 

■by 

David Peltz 

TIME: 

1874 

SCENE: 

A simple interior of a room in the Grand Pacific Hotel 

CHARACTERS: 

Three males: One female 

COSTUMES: 

Civilian dress characteristic of the period. 

AUDIENCE: 

General 

SYNOPSIS: 

Ten years after the assassination of her husband, Mrs. 
Mary Lincoln's life of tragedy is seen reaching its 
climax in her culminating insanity. Her son, Robert, 
an established lawyer, must decide whether or not to 
declare his mother insane and confine her to an 
asylum. In the face of unfavorable press notices 
describing his mother's strange behavior, of his law 
business failing, of his wife's persistent logic that 
the most intelligent thing to do'is to recognize the 
reality of his mother's condition, Robert refuses to 
give in. He knows only too well that when public re¬ 
cords show "Mary Lincoln, lunatic,” the blot on his 
family's name never can be erased. Not even when Doctor 
Morgan tells him that his mother's illness is beyond 
hope for recovery — that it is directly traceable to 
a growth on the brain, does Robert feel that insanity 
is a justifiable diagnosis. Then, from the next room 
in which his mother is convalescing, comes the explosive 
crash of furniture being smashed and the angry, madden¬ 
ing wail of his mother: "Robert! Robert."' The cry 
penetrates his brooding, non-committal silence. Robert 
slowly takes his pen in hand and looks in the direction 
of his mother's calling. With a choked, grim voice of 
resolution, he says: "I'm coming, Mother. I’m coming." 
And before the pen has touched paper (his signature 
will send Mrs. Lincoln to an institution) the curtain 
slowly falls. 


PRODUCTION NOTE: 

Simple to produce. 


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ECHO OF CONFLICT 



A Piny in One Act 

by 

Manford Sttinger 

TIME: 

January, 1865, evening. 

SCENE: 

Parlor of the Kendall home, Chicago. 

CHARACTERS: 

Seven males, three 'females. 

COSTUMES: 

Civil War period. 

AUDIENCE: 

College, Little Theatre, Adult. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Chicago, during the last year of the Civil War, pro¬ 
vides the "background for this tragedy of divided 
loyalties. Southern-horn Jeanette Kendall has found 
it difficult to feel at home in this Northern indus¬ 
trial city. The progress of the Civil War, with the 
attendant growth of hitter feeling against the Confed¬ 
eracy, has only serve to strengthen her loyalty to the 
South and inflame her hatred of the Yankees who, she 
believes, are persecuting her homeland. She joins a 
group of Southern sympathizers who are engaged in 
treasonable sabotage behind the lines. She 

manages to conceal her activities from her husband until 
she is apprehended by secret service operatives. When 
her husband confronts her with his knowledge of her 
guilt, she defends her conduct as being only right in 
view of her conception of the injustice of the N 0 rth, 

She upbraids her husband for his lack of loyalty to 
their mutual birth-place, the South. He trios to make 
her see that his home is the whole Union and that the 
South is in the wrong in attempting to break it up. 

In view of her husband's prominent position, she is 
offered parole into his custody in exchange for a full 
confession of the extent of the treasonable work and 
the persons engaged in it. Her husband pleads with her 
to accept the offer for the sake of their homo and 
their eight year old son. Although shaken, she refuses. 
She attempts to escape to the South in the clothes of 
a Union soldier, and is shot and killed by the secret 
service men guarding her house. 

PRODUCTION 

NOTES: 

One simple interior. No production difficulties. 

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A NEW DAY COMING 



A Play in One Act 

Ly 

Manford Ettinger 

TIME: 

Spring, 1861, morning. 

SCENE: 

The sun-porch of a plantation home near Cairo, Ill, 

CHARACTERS: 

Fourteen males, two females. 

COSTUMES: 

Civil War period. 

AUDIENCE: 

College, Little Theatre, Adult. 

SYNOPSIS: 

The famous surprise expedition of the newly-formed 

Union regiment from Chicago to Cairo, Illinois in the 
opening year of the Civil War, forms the historical 
background for this play. Mrs. Sophia Ford, owner of 
a cotton plantation near Cairo, is expecting the arrival 
of her son James after a long absence in the North, 

James has been studying engineering and has indicated 
his wish to devote his life to this profession. Mrs, 

Ford hopes to persuade him to give up the idea of an 
engineering career and manage the plantation. 

She has put her whole life into the place and now finds 
herself incapable of continuing to run it. James 
arrives as a lieutenant in the Union regiment sent down 
from Chicago. Mrs. Ford is greatly shocked to see him 
in uniform. She tries to perduade him that his place 
is on the plantation, but he has no stomach for the 
role of planter. James is of the new generation of 
forward-looking young people who see in the development 
of industrialism the promise of a new day for their 
country. As such he is an enthusiastic and articulate 
supporter of the Union cause. As she realizes the 
extent of this enthusiasm, Mrs. Ford feels her world — 
the world of cotton and its feudal traditions — crumbl¬ 
ing around her. She knows that the plantation to 
which she has devoted her life must be sold. She feels 
that her son is a stranger to her. When she leaves 
the stage we know that she plans to end her life by 
taking an overdose of sleeping tablets left by hor doctor. 
Unaware of the tragedy, James marches off to duty with 
his regiment. 


PRODUCTION NOTES: One exterior. No production difficulties. 


-21- 




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APOSTLE OF FREEDOM 



A One Act Drama 

By 

Charles Hayes 

TIME: 

1837. 

SCENE: 

Oilman’s Warehouse, Alton, Ill. 

CHARACTERS: 

Eighteen men. (Extras) 

COSTUMES: 

Period. 

AUDIENCE: 

Adult. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Winthrop S. Gilman, Royal Weller, the Reverand Earned, 
and eight other friends of the Reverand Elijah Lovejoy, 
publisher of the abolitionist Alton Observer, are 
gathered in Gilman's warehouse to protect the new press 
which has arrived that morning. Three presses belonging 
to Lovejoy have already been destroyed. The men are 
waiting for the arrival of Lovejoy, confident that nothing 
is going to happen after all. Lovejoy and Roff, an 
abolitionist, bring the news that Carr, a slaver advocate, 
is gathering a mob and that an attempt may be made to 
take the press. Gilman tries to persuade Lovejoy to flee 
Alton with his family and leave the defense of the press 
to his friends. Lovejoy refuses to go. When the mob 
prepares to storm the warehouse, Lovejoy, hoping to pacify 
them, appeals to them to disperse. His appeal is coun¬ 
tered by a hate-fanning speech by Mississippi, a leader 
of the mob. The attack begins. The mob is repulsed, but 
forms for another attack. In the interim, Krum, mayor 
of Alton, and Robbins, a justice of the peace, act as 
emissaries of the mob and bring terms of surrender. B 0V e- 
joy refuses these terms and demands that the mayor give 
him and his friends police protection. Krum refuses. 

Krum and Robbins rejoin the mob, and the attack is re¬ 
newed. An attempt is made to fire the warehouse. Love¬ 
joy is shot down in the doorway as he makes a last appeal 
to the mob to avoid bloodshed. The defenders, hopelessly 
outnumbered, dash out a side door. The mob, led by 
Mississippi, and Carr, come bursting in and take the press. 

PRODUCTION 

NOTES: 

Should be realistically presented. Dew props necessary. 


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WARTIME PRISQ1TZRS 



A One Act Play 

By 

Ruth Sllis 

TIMS: 

1865, Camp Douglas, Chicago. 

SETTING: 

Interior of a Civil W a r prison camp. 

CEARACT3RS: 

Sight men, and prison guards. 

C0STUM3S: 

Prison garb, ordinary old clothes. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Lewis, a plantation laborer, and Hartley, son of a plan¬ 
tation owner, are "being held as prisoners of war at C a mp 
Douglas. In spite of mutual sufferings and hardships, 
their enmity, caused by a pre-war love triangle, continues 
to increase. With the arrival of the mail. Hartley learns 
that Lewis has been victorious in winning the lady’s 
affections. He curses Lewis and threatens that he will 
never get out of there alive. Meanwhile plans have been 
made for a prison break. Lewis, as leader, after much 
difficulty has succeeded in winning the support of the 
men. The signal for the break is given, the men make for 
the dcor and. are met by guards who had beon”tipped off” 
by Hartley. In the confusion a gun is fired and Lewis 
falls to the floor dead. Hartley swaggers contentedly 
to his bunk. 


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BORDER STATE 

One Act Play 

By 

George Murray 

TIME: 

A fall night in 1860. 

SCENE: 

Roadside tavern in southern Illinois. 

CHARACTERS: 

Piv - men, one women. 

COSTUMES: 

Period; frontier. 

AUDIENCE: 

General. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Parker, a itinerant printer-newspaperman, wanders into a 
frontier tavern in Southern Illinois just in time to sense 
that there is something in the air between the tavern 
owner, Hank, and his daughter, Barbara. Sensing a con¬ 
spiracy, he pretends to go to bed but stays awake hoping 
for a story. When a Negro slave enters the tavern sur¬ 
reptitiously, Parker realizes that the saloon is a station 
on the well-organized Underground Railway. A plantation- 
owner and his overseer enter looking for the Negro. Before 
admitting them, the tavern-owner hides the Negro under the 
bar. The story builds up with the reappearance of the 
newspaperman, who comes downstairs from his room. He 
appears torn between the desire to get the reward offered 
by the plantation-owner and the hope of remaining in the 
good graces of the girl, Barbara. How ho succeeds in 
doing both, at the same time throwing the plantation bosses 
•ff the scent and aiding in the escape of the Negro slave, 
makes a thrilling climax to th:;.^ nne-act, one-scene play. 


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PRODUCTION NOTE: 

This will he found to ha a particularly simple play to 
produce and direct. 


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A LILY FOR A LADY 



A One-act Satire 

By 

Joe Abrams 

Til IE: 

Evening, 1882 

SC31U: 

The home of Mr. Clevenger, Chicago 

CHARACTERS: 

Five males, five women 

COSTUMES: 

Period of 1882 

AUDIENCE: 

Universal 

SYNOPSIS: 

Mr. Clevenger and Mr. Thorne, railroad magnates of Chicago 
are endeavoring to obtain a lean from Mr. Billings, a 
banker. Mrs. Clevenger is excited because she is enter¬ 
taining Oscar Wilde, the great English author and play¬ 
wright, that night. Phillip Carson, a ycung man, is in 
love with Beatrice Clevenger, daughter of the Clevenger’s 
but sh3 is very excited because Oscar Wilde has offered 
to put her on the stage, and she breaks her engagement 
with Phillip. Billings says that he will give Clevenger 
his loan if he will induce Oscar Wild3 to accept an in¬ 
vitation to his house the next evening. Wilde finally 
arrives. In spite of his active dislike for Billings he 
is induced to accept his invitation. Phillip accuses 

Wilde of breaking up his love affair with Beatrice by 
offering her a stage career. Wilde says he will right 
matters and does so by offering every woman in the house 
a stage career, including the homely Olivia Thorne, Mrs. 
Thorne, Mrs. Clevenger, and even the maid. Beatrice is 
so shaken that she decides to marry Phillip after all, 
and Wilde exits in a blaze of glory. 

PRODUCTIONS 

NOTES: 

This is an extremely easy play to stage and should go 
well for almost all groups. Good opportunity for acting 
in all parts. Could be played against drapes or cyclorama 


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SPEAK SOFTLY OF THE DEAD 



A One Act Poetic Pantasv 

By 

Joe Abrams 

TIME: 

About 1875. Early afternoon. 

SCENE: 

A cemetery in Lincoln Park, Chicago. 

CHARACTERS: 

Twelve men, three women, two boys. 

COSTUMES: 

One Indian costume, two male pioneer costumes, one 
confederate uniform, one Union uniform, two colonial 


gowns, one police uniform, and other costumes of 1875. 

AUDIENCE: 

Adult and college, and advanced high school groups. 

SYNOPSIS: 

A cemetery in Chicago is being removed so that the land 
may be used for a park. Bodies are being exhumed for re¬ 
moval. Some of the uncovered dead awake from their sleep 
and gather to see if they can learn why they have been 
disturbed. They do not know that they have been dead but 
learn it finally from The Pioneer. They are shocked at 
the knowledge and decide that they will refuse to leave 
their resting ground. Then the living enter, and the 
dead step int* the background, listening. The living 
explain dramatically the need for a park in this growing 
city. Suddenly they are confronted with the dead who 
steadfastly refuse to leave. There is an argument, and 
the dead are finally convinced that the earth belongs to 
the living. 

PRODUCTION 

NOTES: 

This play may be done with only the cut out of a grave¬ 
stone up center and two benches, one right and one left. 
Lights should be soft for an othereal tone throughout. 


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GARDEN OF BEEN 

A One Act Play 

By 

Buth Schaaf 

TIKE: 

1893 

SCENE: 

Parlor in a Chicago home 

CHARACTERS: 

Three men, three women. 

COSTUMES: 

Close of the nineteenth century. 

SYNOPSIS: 

The husband in this family has worked hard to give his 
family all the luxuries they want. Nov: ho has on his 
hands a selfish and foolish wife, and a spoiled daughter 
The daughter is engaged to a young doctor who is expect¬ 
ing a handsome settlement from his fiancee's father.. 

With this money the young couple intend to take their 
place among Chicago's aristocracy. Meanwhile the father 
has met a college professor at the World's F a ir and be¬ 
coming interested in an expedition the professor tells 
him about, promises to finance it. When the wife learns 
what is going to happen to the money she confronts him 
in a scene in which man and wife finally face each other 
in the showdown of their lives. And the woman wins.. 


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BY-PRODUCTS OF ABATTOIR 



A One Act Play 

By 

Ruth Ellis 

TIMS: 

About 1890. 

SETTING: 

A room of a can-painting factory, Chicago. 

CHARACTERS: 

Eight women, four man, one hoy. 

COSTUMES: 

Clothes of the period. 

SYNOPSIS: 

A play of the Chicago stockyards about 1890. Buo to the 
death of her father by blood poisoning contracted at the 
stockyards, Lela Oddo, a fragile girl.of twenty, is 
forced to work in a can-painting factory. In spite of 
her impoverished stats, her lack of education and oppor¬ 
tunity, aspiring Lela has submitted a painting to compete 
for an artist’s commission at the forth-coming Columbian 
Exposition. Success conns to her, but too late — she 
has been sent to a tubercular sanitarium. 


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FLOTSAM 



A One A ct Drama 

By 

Charles Hayes 

TIKE: 

Present, 10:00 P. M. 

SCEl'.i: 

A flophouse near ^est Kadison St. 

CHARACTERS: 

Five men 

COSTUMES: 

Rough working clothes 

AUDIENCE: 

Adults. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Rags and Smith, two down-end outers, are alone in a 
flophouse, discussing the possibilities or wheedling the 
oth. r inmates out of some money. Both men are addicted 
to drink, and "both are tortured "by hunger. At the 
animal level to which they have sunk, thirst and hunger 
hecome a force propelling them to action. Davis, an 
old derelict, enters, picks up his blanket, and prepares 
to sleep. The flophouse has claimed him long ago, until 
now he moves through life in a drunken stupor. Smith and 
Rags ask him for money and liquor. Receiving nc response 
Smith strongarns Davis while Rags goes through his 
pock;ts. They find nothing. Bud, a youth temporarily 
down on his luck, enters. He has been passing out cir¬ 
culars for several days, attempting to save enough money 
to get to Denver whore he has a brother who has promised 
him a job. Rags and Smith try to obtain money from Bud 
by appealing to his pity; when their appeal fails, they 
begin to abuse him. Red, a hob©, enters. Ho has no 
money, but shares his tobacco with the men. Rags and 
Smith, sensing that Bud is the only inmate with money, 
renew their appeal. Once again Bud refuses them. The 
men stretch out to sleep. Rod is so tormented by the 
vormin which infest the place, that he gets up and goes 
out. Rags and Smith go through the sleeping Bud’s 
pockets, find his money and take it. Davis’ and Bud’s 
shoes are also token, because, as Smith puts it, "they 
might be good for a drink." 

PRODUCTION 
NOTES: 

No props necessary. 


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SHADOWS OF THE PAST 

A Comedy Melodrama in tv?o scenes 

By 

Victor Schafer 

TIME: 

Winter, 1907. 

S CENE: 

West Side in Chicago. 

CAST: 

Eight men, three women 

COSTUMES: 

1907 dress, one dinner gown, one tuxedo. 

AUDIENCE: 

Adult 

SYNOPSIS: 

Nora, three years before the opening of the play, has 
been befriended by Jimsy White, a notorious criminal, 
who has spent the ensuing time in prison. Nora, with 
$500 left her by Jimsy, has taken a business course and 
has secured work with Mr. Hollister, bank president. 
Hollister and Nora fall in love, but the spectre of Jimsy 
stands in their way. Hollister presumably doss not knew 
of the former lia3on. Jimsy escapes prison, breaks into 
Nora's home, and steals several hundred dollars which 
she has been saving. Later on Jimsy returns and hides 
$25,000, which he has stolen from Hollister's bank. The 
detectives appear to search for the stolen money and un¬ 
earth the $25,000. Hollister arrives, and tells the de¬ 
tectives not to search further because he himself has 
made good the loss at the bank. Nora has made a pact 
with Jimsy, in return for former favors, to the effect 
that she will not turn him in to the police until 8 P.M, 
thus giving him a chance to escape. 3ut Jimsy returns 
to retrieve the $25,000, is captured by the police, and 
Nora, who is now free of him, confesses her former asso¬ 
ciation with him to Hollister. He tells her he was aware 
of the situation all along, and is willing to ignore her 
past. Thus the play ends happily for all except Jimsy 
White. 

NOTE: 

This is done in tw* scenes. The set is the same for both 
scenes. Several of the male characters may be doubled if 
necessary, although this is not advisable unless circum¬ 
stances so dictate. Good comedy lines, good character 
lines throughout. 


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SHUTTING SANDS 


A Comedy Drama in Two 
A Comedy Drama in Two Scenes 

Victor Schafer 


TIME: April 21, 1857 


SCENES: 

CAST: 


a. Mayor John Wentworth’s office. 

h. "The Sands" on Chicago's lake front 

Eight men, one woman, fifteen to twenty extras. 


COSTUMES: Plain dress of 1857. 


AUDIENCE APPEAL:Adult. 


SYNOPSIS: "Long John" Wentworth, mayor of Chicago, is determined 

to destroy The S a nds, a lake front section which is the 
center of the city's vice and crime. He has called in 
legal advice, and is advised to tear the place down. 
However, Boodles Hays, owner of The S a nds» declares he 
will get out an injunction. Wentworth goes on with his 
plans. He has a map in which the Sands is marked in 
red, find he tells his chief of police that hy the next 
morning he wants the red on the map changed to white. 

The following scene takes place in The S a nds that night. 
Some of the inhabitants of The Sands, including Clancy, 
Cleo, and. Boehm, are discussing a murder which occurred 
the night before. In the distance they see a fire, but . 
are not concerned with it. Clancy says that if the 
police raid them that night he is equipped to shoot it 
out with them. The police come, and the captain of 
police is wounded by Clancy. Hays argues with the chief 
of police, trying to talk him into calling off the raid, 
but the chief replies by arresting as many of The S a nds' 
inhabitants as he can. He has also arrested Cleo's 
"ladies", but Cleo, a notorious demimondaine, refuses to 
come out of her house. The Chief of Police goes into 
her house, struggles with her, and rolls down the stairs 
in a tangle of poll parrot, feather boas, etc. At this 
moment the mayor enters and berates the chief for not 
taking his business seriously instead of playing with the 
girls. And now the fire has spread and will soon wipe 
out The Sands. The mayor knows that "the red bl#t on 
the map will be white tomorrow." 

NOTE: This play is full of fast action and should play well to 

adult audiences. 


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THE MUSIC TEACHER 

A One Act Play 

Joe Abrams 


TIMS: 

SCENE: 

S3TS: 


CHARACTERS: 


Evening, 1901. 

Office of Theodore Thomas 
One interior. 

Eivo men, two women. 


SYNOPSIS: Wessels, business manager of the Chicago Symphony Orches¬ 

tra, and McTraverr. an officer of the Orchestral Associa¬ 
tion, are in the office of Theodore Thomas, while the 
latter is conducting the orchestra in a concert. McTravers 
is of the opinion that Thomas should make his concerts 
more popular by playing morn tuneful music such as dances, 
gavottes, etc. , while Wessels disagrees. Consuelo and 
Maria enter to see Thomas but are told to leave. They do 
so. Mrs. Thomas enters, and McTravars exits. Woesels 
shows Mrs. Thomas a telegram which tails that Thomas’s son 
has died that day in New York. They decide not to tell 
Thomas the. news until next day. During intermission of 
the concert Thomas enters and gets into an argument with 
McTravers about the type of music he should play. Thomas 
has insulted one of the patrons of the orchestra by halt¬ 
ing the concert while the patron and his wife indulged in 
pointless conversation in the audience. If Thomas would 
play more melodic nrusis perhaps the orchestra could balance 
its budget. This Thomas refuses to do because it is his 
purpose to educate the people to enjoy and appreciate 
good music. Mr. Hondarmann, a representative of the New 
York Philharmonic, enters and offers Thomas a position as 
conductor of the Philharmonic with no strings attached. 
Thomas is doubtful until he learns about the death of his 
son. Then, in grief for the death of his son, and in 
disappointment because his crusade of educating Chicagoans 
has failed, he accepts the offer, is about to leave the 
hall without completing the second portion of the concert. 
Consuelo and Maria enter agian. They are sitting in the 
gallery and worship Thomas as a godlike creature. In a 
dramatic scene they convince Thomas thatwhilo ha might have 
failed to educate the millionaires to good music he has 
succeeded wall in educating the common people in the 
galleries. Upon learning this Thomas decides to stay in 
Chicago and continue his crusade. 


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COLUMBUS MISSED ^H5 BOAT 



By 

Joe Abrams 

TIME: 

Siammer, 1933 

SCENE: 

The office of L-on-Wheels, Chicago. 

COSTUMES: 

Combination Indian and modern 

CHARACTERS: 

Six men, two women. 

AUDIENCE: 

General 

SYNOPSIS: 

L-on-Wheels, an Indian, believes that the Great White Gods 
are someday going to discover America, and inorder to greet 
them properly has built the Chicago World’s Pair. It 
seems, as the title implies, that America has never been 
discovered by the white man. His daughter is engaged to 
marry Higher-Water, the son onf Mrs. Nose-in-Stars. If 
the Great White Gods do not arrive by seven o’clock tonight, 
all of L-on-Wheels 1 money will be gone and he and his 
daughter will be destitute. Mrs. Nose-in-Stars gets a 
psychiatrist to declare L-cn-Wheels insane so that the 
wedding can be cancelled. Seven o’clock has finally passed 
and still no White Gods have arrived. L-on-Wheels admits 
that he is insane, but finally the White God-arrives in 
an airplane. He tells them, however, that it is not yet 
seven o'clock becaise the savages know nothing about Cen¬ 
tral Standard Time. He then makes them a gift of "civil¬ 
ization,” which ironically enough consists of guns, hand 
grenades, bombs, whiskey, etc. 

NOTE: 

This is a mad farce, full *f historical anarchronisms 
and should be a laugh-provoking, entertaining half hour 
for audiences of all types. 


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DUE PROCESS OE LAW 

A Play in One Act 

By 

Jacob Bentkover 

CR4RACT2RS: 

Ten men. 

SETTING: 

One interior, a saloon. 

TIME: 

August 4, .1872. Midnight. 

PLACE: 

Chicago, Illinois. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Based on the famous “Rafferty Murder Cases’', as related in 
Volume HI of A. T. Andreas' History of Chicago. 

Christopher Rafferty, with a feeling of persecution that 
has grown since his birth in the Chicago slums, is in¬ 
censed at the unwarranted arrest of his pal and roommate, 
Johnny Candler, for loitering in fron of a bakery window. 
Johnny has been unemployed and hungry. The police of the 
neighborhood are becoming increasingly arrogant, but Chris 
has a gun and has sworn that no policeman shall arrest him 
while he is armed. Policeman Patrick O'Meara has heard 
of the threat and is determined to accept the challenge. 

Cn the night in question, Rafferty is seated in the 
saloon drunk, and resentful, when O'Meara and another 
policeman, Scanlan, appear. 

Rafferty quietly i’uritas them to have a drink with him, • 
and offers them cigars - both of which they refuse. O'Meara 
then comes up to Rafferty and presents him with a warrant 
for his arrest, for robbery. Amazed, Rafferty protests 
his innocence. It then is revealed by certain defects in 
the warrant that it has been forged by O'Meara for the 
purpose of calling Rafferty's challenge and making the 
arrest. Enraged beyond control, Rafferty pulls his gun. 
i'Meara and Scanlan retreat to the front and rear doors. 
O'Meara demands tho gun. Rafferty shoots and kills him - 
then wheels on Scanlan, firing. Scanlan ducks behind the 
bar - and after the enraged Rafferty has emptied 'his gun, 
leaps at him and clubs Rafferty unconscious. The police 
arrive and take Rafferty away. It is clear that, though 
the warrant was forged and Rafferty was drunk and deranged 
by police persecution, he will be hanged for premeditated 
murder. 


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A MAID IN PERIL 



A one-act Comedy Melodrama 

Joe Abrams 

TIME: 

June 1, 1868. 

SCENE: 

The Bideawhile gambling den, Chicago. 

SETS: 

One interior. 

CH AH.VOTERS: 

Two men, two women. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Felix Murkwater, villian and owner of the Bideawhile 
Gambling Ben, has promised to marry Sal, a girl whom 
he has led. on the downward path. Nov; he refuses to do 
so. She says that if ever she finds him making love to 
another she will kill him. She goes and Frank Strong- 
heart , the hero, enters. He begs Murkwater to give up 
his evil ways and close his gambling den. Murkwater re¬ 
fuses and threatens to wreak vengeance on Valerie True- 
love, with whom Frank is in love. Frank goes and Valerie 
enters to plead with Murkwater not to foreclose the 
mortgage he holds on the home of Valerie’s invalid mother. 
Murkwater sovs he will withhold foreclosure if Valerie 
will accept his attentions. She refuses. He tries to 
force a kiss from her unwilling lips, but she is rescued 
in the nick of time by Frank, who breaks in and. fights 
'with Murkwater only to receive a wound in the shoulder, 
which incapacits.tes him. Frank is threatened with a 
horrible death. Murkwater again trios to force a kiss 
from Valerie while the helpless Strongheart looks on. 

Sal enters, sees Murkwater carrying on with Valerie, picks 
up a gun, and shoots Murkwater. Murkwater dies, but first 
bequeaths the Bideawhile and his money to Frank Strong- 
heart so that he can make a 3oy's Club out of the build¬ 
ing, and gives Valerie the mortagage on her mother’s 
home. All ends well. 

NOTE: 

This is very melodramatic and should derive its main 
comedy from the triteness of situation and the posing 
and overacting of the characters. 


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THE STRANGER IN THE PITS 

A Long One Act Drama 



By 

Joe Abrams 

TIMS: 

Afternoon, 1909. 

SCENE: 

A room in a coal mine at Cherry, Ill. 

CHARACTERS: 

Twelve males, two females. 

COSTUMES: 

Period of 1909, but could be modern. 

AUDIENCE: 

Junior colleges and adult. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Six men are trapped in a room in a coal mine with no 
way of escape. The Stranger (Death) is there also. 

One of the men dies through the ministrations of The 
Stranger, and when the others discover who he is they 
react in different and characteristic ways. The 

Stranger attempts to show them why he has chosen them 
for death. He has brought Stasch here, for instance, 
so that his girl might marry the man she loves. Tony 
is here so that his son might use the insurance money to 
become a doctor. Chris, so that his son may be cured 
of tuberculosis. Jordon, the mine manager, is here at 
his own invitation because the disaster is due in a 
large measure to his own negligence and incompetence. 
Each of these explanations entails a flashback, either 
to another scene or to another tins. Finally, the 
men are either reconciled to their fate or, as in the 
case of Jordon, unable to reconcile themsel-res. The 
Stranger picks up a kerosene lamp and blows it out, 
the inference being that they have crossed the barrier 
to the unknown. 

PRODUCTION 

NOTES: 

The scene in the mine can be done realistically insofar 
as setting is concerned, or it can be played against 
dark drapes and dim lights. The flashback scones may 
be set by pushing on a few pieces of furniture and 
directing a spotlight on the action. 


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THE CASE OF THE STOLEN CADAVER 



A One Act Drama 

By 

Joa Abrams 

TIMS: 

The present and 1820. 

SCENE: 

Two interiors and two exteriors to he done very 
effectively on hare stage with minimum of properties. * 

CHARACTERS: 

Sixteen males, one female. 

COSTUHES: 

Pour modern dress. Thirteen costumes in 1820 period. 

AUDIENCE: 

Would appeal to high schools and adults. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Dr. Kerr, a young doctor of a hospital staff, has just 
performed an operation in the middle of the night and 
is tired and disillusioned with the medical profession. 
He talks of giving up when Dr. Murphy, an elderly 
staff physician, interrupts to tell him the story of 

Dr. Drake, a pioneer doctor of the Midwest in the 1820's 
The scene shifts to 1820. Four students of a medical 
school are arrested on charges of stealing a cadaver 
from a graveyard. Their careers aro jeopardized, hut 
with the help of Dr. Drake and a clever lawyer thoy 
are released. Dr. Drake becomes involved in a con¬ 
troversy with Dr. Dudley as to the ownership of the 
cadaver, and Drake is challenged to a duel hut refuses 
to fight. Dr. Richardson, a friend of Drake's, in 
turn challenges Dudley and they fight a duel. Rich¬ 
ardson is seriously wounded, and when Drake enters and 
tries to minister to his wounds he finds he is unable 
to operate effectively. Dudley pushes Drake aside and 
saves the lif« of Richardson. Then the two former 
mortal enemies, Drake and Dudley, become fast friends. 
The scene shifts again to the present. Dr. Kerr real¬ 
izes that one has to fight continually to uphold and 
carry on the mission of medicine, and resolves drama¬ 
tically to continue the fight of the pioneer doctors. 

* PRODUCTION 
NOTES: 

Only the barest suggestions of sets aro necessary: a 
table, chair, bench, etc. A spotlight on the action is 
sufficient lighting in the interior scenes. In exter¬ 
ior scenes only a bare stage is required against a 
background of drapes or cyclorama. 


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THIS: 
SC3KE: 
CHARACTERS 
COSTUMES: 

SYNOPSIS: 


A One Act Drana 
By 

Ruth Schaaf 


1860 

A cabin in Illinois 
: Eight msn, two woman. 
Farm Clothes. 


Magda Dupu and her husband Paul hav3 coma to America 
on the immigration wavs that followed political trouble 
in Europe. They are happy here, living simple lives 
in Illinois. The minister’s wife drops in and con¬ 
verses with Magda. She tells Magda about their neigh¬ 
bor, Mr. Jones, who doesn't take proper care of his 
family. She leaves and Mr. Jones comes in. Magda and 
Paul realise that something is amiss. Jones tells 
them that he is being hunted by a mob who have found out 
about his Abolitionist activities, have destroyed his 
printing press, shot his companion, and ar9 now pur¬ 
suing him. Paul is shocked that her3, in the land of 
fresedom, a man should be persecuted for writing against 
slavery. He tells Jones that he will hide him. But 
the minister's wife has seen Jones enter the house and 
has informed the leaders of the mob. Paul pleads with 
the men, invokes the principles on which our nation 
is founded, freedom of speech, freedom to publish one's 
opinions, but the mob leaders jeer. Thej* - take Jones 
out with them. Magda expresses her d isappointment in 
this land which had seemed so fair to her but Paul 
points out that America is not the few lawless men 
who behav3 like bandits, but rather the place vdiere in¬ 
justice has the least chance of survival and men never 
forget that all men are created equal. 


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THE ISVII AHORSEBACK 



A Gcmedy-Tragedy in One Act 

By 

Victor Schafer 

TIME: 

Autumn, 1870 

SCENTS: 

A one-room wooden shack in the Czark mountains of southern 
Illinois. 

CAST: 

Three women, one to two men. 

COSTUMES: 

Coarse cotton dresses and overalls. 

AUDIENCE: 

General 

SYNOPSIS: 

Maw Crippen and her daughter Matty have recently come here 
from North Carolina, and continue their hill hilly existence 
with Paw Crippen(who does not appear). They have lost their 
cow Bessie in the migration and Paw is drinking so much he 

• 

can't provide fresh food by hunting. Maw sells Matty for 
$50 to Tom Stubblefield, a game warden of the Gounty. Matty 
is in love with Sid Tolliver, a local yokel, who has a ,job 
in the saw mill. Matty pleads for a chance with Sid or even 
a job with some city campers as cook. Maw replies that the 
sale has been made and the Crippens are an honorable family. 
Mrs. Paudell, a neighbor, notifies them that Paw Crippen has 
been again locked up in the village jail, but is shortly to 
be sent tc the county jail far away. Maw is about to leave 
when Matty offers her a snuff box, now filled with rat 
poison according to Maw. Maw leaves. Matty has a long 
pantomime scene in which she mentally speculates on death 
for herself. She opens box, smells it, lets it run thru her 
hands and then slowly and deliberately takes a whits cup 
from the shelf, pours hot horsemint tea into the cup and 
sits at table. She pours the box of poison in cup and is 
about to drink it when Tom who is drunk comes in with a 
bunch of bananas he has promised Maw. He drops the bananas 
and, slumps into -chair at table. He has a stomach-ache 
and Matty takes down the blue cup and fills it with the tea 
and offers it to him. He grabs her in an amorous embrace, 
and in the scuffle the cups are disarranged on table and 

Tom picks up white one and drinks it. Another.pantomime 
scene for Matty, watching him plunge to the table and then 
the floor. She pokes him with bare foot and knowing him 
dead, puts on shoes and shawl and goes to door and calls, 
"Hey, M a w, another rat's been kilt." 


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SPIRIT OF ABOLITION 

One Act Play 

*y 

Carl F. Williamson 

Til.33: 

20 minutes 

SCENE: 

One exterior 

CHARACTERS: 

Bight men, one woman 

COSTUMES: 

Early American 

SYNOPSIS: 

An erlderly couple passes the courtyard and sees the placards 
advertising the sale of a colored man, Edwin Heathcock, in 
Illinois. They become alarmed. The sheriff notices them 
discussing the affair and intimidates them. He pushes the 
old lady around and knocks the old man to the ground. Mr. 
Ogden, an abolitionist, helps the couple *ff stage, leaving 
the sheriff talking to John Jones, a progressive Negro who 
begs for the release of the prisoner who is to be sold for 
striking his employer, Mr. Elliott. Jones reviews the case 
and. declares that Heathcock is innocent. Mr. Elliott enters 
and gives his view of the case. Mr. Ogden enters and plays 
on the side of the sheriff and Mr. Elliott. He appears to 
be interested in tuying Heathcock. When Mr. Ogden and the 

Mr. Jones are alone cm the stage, he sends Jones after a 
couple of huskies who are to tie and lock Mr. Elliott in 
the jail in order to keep him from bidding at the auction. 

Mr. Ogden convinces the sheriff to let him have the keys 
to look over lithe prisoner. He takes Mr. Elliitt with him. 
The huskies come on stage with a rope. They go to the 
jail and lock Mr. Elliott. The sheriff is surprised at not 
finding Elliott in the audience to buy the prisoner. The 
bidding starts. Mr. Ogden buys the prisoner for a quarter, 
then tells him he’s free to go where he desires. 


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THE STORMING OF SEBASTOPOL 



A Comedy in One Act 

By 

Jacob Bentkover 

CHARACTERS: 

Pour men and one woman, extras 

SETTING: 

The interior of a saloon - not a complex set, since this 
is in the period when the small-town saloon was still 
emerging from the small-town grocery. 

TIME: 

Friday, April 4, 1856 

PLACE : 

Canton, Pulton County, Illinois. 

SYNOPSIS: 

The play is "based on an incident related in Chapman 1 s 

Hist or?/ - of Pulton County, and takes nlace during the 
period when the temperance movements were "beginning to 
sweep the country. 

The "Sebastopol" is the saloon owned "by Prank Mallory, 

The Ladies Temperance Society of Canton has "been trying 
to close it under the dry law, without success. On the 
day in question they are assembling with hatchets under 
their shawls to smash the place. Belinda Boorchee, 
president of the society, comes into the saloon to get 
the picture of her that Mallory has .suspended behind the 
bar. He refuses, tells her he loves her, and proposes 
to her. She will have nothing to do with a liquor dealer, 

however. In the course of the argument sho agrees that 
if he ever succeeds in kissing her, she will marry him. 
Since he remains stubborn about closing his place, however, 
she smashes the pictures, and leaves. 

Steve Tyler, the sheriff,and Prank's friend, runs in with 
the nows that the women are going to storm the place. 

Frank sends a couple of men to round up a defense corps. 
While the men of the town gather to defend their rights, 
Prank and Steve pile obstructions against the doors. 

The women arrive with their armaments. The men, faced 
with their own womenfolk, ooze away. The women break in 
smash up the one or two kegs on stage, and descend to the 
cellar (trapdoor off-stage). They break open all the 
casks, spilling the contents on the cellar floor. In the 
confined space, the fumes are overpowering to constitu¬ 
tions unaccustomed to liquor, end the lad.ies of the 

Ladies Temperance Society of Canton become tipsy. 







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In alarm, the few ladies onstage get them up hurriedly 
and out into the square to read the resolution they have 
prepared. In the confusion, Frank manages to corral 
the dazed Belinda, closes the doors, and - while the 
ladies outside read the Resolution swearing to close up 
any place that tries to re-open - he plants the fatal 
kiss upon her lips. Being a woman of her >7ord - and 
not disinclined to him - she agrees to marry him. It 
looks as if they will have to sell groceries instead of 
liquor anyway. 

They march out into the square with their news, to the 
amazement of the ladies and the cheers of the men. 


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REVENGE AT NAUVOO 



A drama in one act 

B y 

David Peltz 

Til,IE: 

1846 

SCENE: 

The interior of Brigham Young 1 s study. 

GOSTUi'ISS: 

Civilian and frontier clothes characteristic of the period. 

AUDIENCE: 

College, little theatre, adult. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Brighnan Young and his faithful Bodyguard Goliath are con¬ 
fronted with the problem of preventing an irascible politi¬ 
cal opportunist by the name of Tomkins from forcing the 
Mormons into evacuating Nauvoo in the short space of two 
hours. But no matter what means Young employs, no matter 
what solution he concocts, he still is faced with the 
ultimatum: "If‘n him and his lot a* perlygamists is still 
in Nauvoo by the time two hours is up- then me and ma* 
eight hundred followers is a goin 1 ta string him and his 
hull committee to a sour apple tree." Young has no alter¬ 
native but "to git." But before he leaves, Brigham induces 
the naiv3 Goliath to kill Tomkins to avenge the injustices 
wrought on his people by the cruel and unprincipled Tomkins. 
Goliath, at 3irgh.am‘s command, kills calmly in the name of 
everything good and holy. Only after a suspenseful moment 
however, does he succeed. And when Goliath wipes out Tom¬ 
kins we see his strange figure breathe with a. tranquil and 
inner sense of accomplishment as he thanks his M a stor for 
giving him the privilege of serving His needs. 

PRODUCTION 

NOTES: 

This play is simple to produce and direct. Offers excellent 
opportunities for characterization. 


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"YOU’RE ASKING POR IT n 
(One-Act Comedy-Drama in Two Scenes) 



% 

George Murray 

TIKE: 

A spring day in 1883; 

SCENE: 

The mining village of Spring V a lley, Illinois 

CHARACTERS: 

Seven men, t7>'o women. 

COSTUMES: 

Striped trousers and cutaways for two mala characters; 
otherwise, in period. 

AUDIENCE: 

General. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Although dealing with a labor situation, the broad burlesque 
in this play makes it suitable for general audience with 
particular appeal to the sophisticated. It is the story of 
a strike in the coal mines. The mine owner, Harknoss, calls 
in the strike-breaking agency operated by Maw and Sock Pink- 
ham. Arrived on the scene, Pinkham, who is a mining engineer, 
discovers valuable minerals in the land of the miners. The 
mine ovmers agree with him that it will be more profitable 
to settle the strike as the way to make money out of a coal 
mine is to operate it with miners, not with hired help that 
know nothing of the job. In the course of settling the 
strike, Pinkham falls in love v/ith Harkness 1 pretty secretary 
and Harkness displays feeling for Pinkham 1 s business-like 
mother. Maw Pinkham. The miners* mineral-bearing property 
is bought, giving them all a handsome profit on the deal, 
their wage-cut is restored to end the strike, and all is 
peace and harmony at the final curtain. 

PRODUCTION 

NOTES: 

This is a simple play to produce and direct. Its basic humor 
mokes it suitable for general audience, but its broad satire 
and burlesque makes it particularly appropriate for a 
sophisticated or a labor audience. 


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WEEP NO MORS 



A One Act Drama 

Dy 

Ruth Schaaf 

TIME: 

Evening, 1865 

SCENE: 

A Negro home in Chic.ago 

CHARACTERS: 

Six males, three women 

COSTUMES: 

Period of Civil War 

AUDIENCE: 

Universal 

SYNOPSIS: 

A Negro family in Chicago finds out that Granny has $500 in 
her possession. All the members of the family feel that 3 he 
should turn the money over to them "because they can make 
"better use of it then she can. While they are planning 
what to do Granny is sleeping in the next room. The 
preacher comes and goes into Granny's room. He is in her 
confidence and, knowing this, the family listens behind the 
door. They learn that Granny is going to use the $500 to 
buy President Lincoln a present because he has freed the 
slaves, lifted them up, and told them to "weep no more. 11 

The family begins to .argue back ;md forth. Everybody agrees 
that Lincoln is the friend of the Negro people and that they 
love him. But they think it is foolish to buy him a present 
with the only money they have in the world since he is rich 
enough and does not need their money. Some friends come in. 
They are going to a party. They are gay, festive. Then out 
in the street the newsies begin to cry: LINCOLN ASSASSINATED.' 
They hear the words with pity and tears. Granny comes out 
from the next room. She is too old and deaf to notice that 
anything has occurred. She tolls her family triumphantly 
that she is going to buy the President a beautiful gold 
watch with all of the $500 so that when he wants to know 
what time it is he will take it out of his pocket and hold 
it in his hand. The family is grieved and silent. "Yeah, 
Granny,"they say. Then one of them suggests that it would 
be better to buy a beautiful bed of flowers with tho money, 
for him to lie on. But the old woman is too deaf and re¬ 
mains happy in the knowledge that she is buying a present 
for President Lincoln. 

PRODUCTION 

NOTES: 

This is an easy piny to stage. Good acting parts. 


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NO GREATER LOVE 


TIME: 

SCENE: 
CHARACTERS: 
COSTUMES: 
AUDIENCE: 

SUNOPSIS: 


A Ore Act Drruna 

sy 

Charles Hayes 


1842. Night. 

A public room in a roadhouse. 
Nine men, one woman. 

Period 

Adults. 


Heathcock, a slave, is being helped to escape via the under¬ 
ground railway by Calvin, DeWolf, Ogden, Eastman, and 
Eastman's daughter, Charlotte. Matson, the owner of the 
slave, is in close pursuit. Heathcock is disguised as a 
woman and poses as "Julia," Charlotte's maid. The party 
comes to a roadhouse kept by Grumps M 0 rgan.* Shortly before 
the party arrives, N 0 rgnn and Squint, .an employee, are dis¬ 
cussing a reward notice which has been distributed by 
Matson. When the party enters, Squint is sent to care for 
the horses; M 0 rgan prepares dinner. After dinner wine is 
served, and Charlotte requests a glass for her servant 
"Julia." While pouring the wine, Morgan notices*the size of 
"Julia's" hands, and comments on it. Apparently satisfied 
by Charlotte's explanation, Morgan goes back tc the bar and 
holds a whispered conference with Squint. Squint goes out 
and rides away. Somewhat uneasy, the abolitionists go up¬ 
stairs to bed. Squint returns from having notified Matson. 

A short tinn later, Matson, and two of his men, Jake and 
Bill, arrive. The abolitionists are routed out of bed. 

DeWolf denies that "Julia" and Heathcock are one, and, 
hoping to convince Matson, agrees to fight him a duel, should 
ha be proven wrong. Matson makes the agreement, promising 
the rest of the party freedom, should a duel be fought and he 
or DeWolf fall. Then Matson strips the disguise from 
Heathcock. Acs Jake is counting paces for the duel, Heathcock 
makes a break for freedom, and is brought down by Jake and 
Matson. A second later DeWolf kills Matson. Jake and Bill 
depart with their dead chief. 


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SLEEP MAKER 



A Three Act Dramatic Biography 
of W. T. G-. Morton, discover¬ 
er of the anaesthetic proper¬ 
ties of ether. 

% 

Joe Abrams 

TIKE; 

1846 to 1863. 

SCENE: 

Boston. Four sets, done in seven scenes. 

CELYELACTERS: 

Twenty-two men, four women. 

COSTUMES: 

Period costumes. 

AUDIENCE: 

Universal. 

SYNOPSIS: 

W. T. C. Morton, a dentist of Boston, Mass. , has discovered 
that ether will cause insensibility to pain during surgery 
and tries to convince the medical authorities of this fact. 

Ke is jeered and. laughed at but finally his discovery is 
tried and succeeds, A certain Dr. Jackson, an official of 
the Medical Society, tries to get credit for having made the 
discovery, even though ho was one of those who laughed at 
Morton. Through Jackson’s influence Morton is discredited 
and driven into poverty. He loses his practice, is forced 
to pawn his belongings, and becomes almost a pauper. Con¬ 
gress tries to clarify the situation as to who is the real 
discoverer of ethor, but Jackson does not allow Congress to 
recognize Morton. Morton is driven from his office, is 
stoned by children on the streets, and loses all his friends, 
with the exception of his wife, Dr. Bigelow and Eben Frost. 
Finally, however, Morton receives his recognition...too 
late. He is dead. Bigelow directs a tirade against the 
young doctor who would not take Morton to a hospital because 
he looked toe poor to pay his bill. But now at last the 
"ole -p maker" can sleep in peace. 

PRODUCTION 

NOTES: 

Sets in this play may be done simply with not too much 
attention to details, though some of the scenes, especially 
the scene in surgery, should be done as realistically as 
possible. Some of the mala parts may be doubled if necessary, 


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PIONEER ^ITH A KNIFE 

A One Act Ploy 

By 

Joe Abrams 

TIME: 

Afternoon, March 2, 1389. 

SCENE: 

Dr. Fenger's office in County Hospital, Chicago. 

SET'S: 

One interior. 

CHARACTERS: 

Four men, two woman. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Miss Caraway, superintendent of nurses in the Count;/ - Hos¬ 
pital, tells Dr, Fenger, the hand of the hospital, that 

Dr. J. B. Murphy has practised unethical medicine, by 
operating on a patient for a stomach ache. Dr. Stinson 
enters and confirms this accusation, saying that Murphy 
refused to take his advice. He demands that Murphy be 
barred from further medical practice. Stinson has brought 
to the office Mrs. Monahan and Jim Monahan, mother and 
brother of the patient. Jim, upon hearing that the opera¬ 
tion is unnecessary, threatens to kill Murphy when ho sees 
him. Just when the tide is turning vary much against 

Murphy he enters. Dr. Fenger asks him to defend himself 
on the charges of operating on a stomach ache when castor 
oil was the indicated prescription. Dr. Murphy explains 
in dramatic fashion that youpgMonahan did not have a 
stomach ache but had instead a severe case of appendicitis. 
For proof he offers the removed appendix and shows that it 
was necessar:/ to perform the operation and save the patient 1 
life. He received the gratitude of those related to the 
patient and the congratulations of Fenger. This is the 
story of the first appendectomy ever performed in the his¬ 
tory of surgery. 


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